Category: Entertainment

The largest war to ever engulf the globe is happening right outside, but the inhabitants of George Bernard Shaw’s “Heartbreak House,” are more concerned with their love affairs.

In “Heartbreak House,” the feminist writer depicts the course of a day in a mansion in Sussex, England.

Over the course of the show character’s become fixated on romance while ignoring that they are living in the middle World War I.

Ohio Wesleyan’s theatre and dance department’s rendition of the play was directed by Professor Elane Denny-Todd.

Denny-Todd said that after 22 years of working at OWU, she was excited to finally produce one of Shaw’s works.

The cast of “Heartbreak House” is comprised of ten students from various class years.

Making the first appearance on stage was Ellie Dunn, played by senior Jenea Dominguez.

Dominguez’s character struggles throughout the show with the decision of whom she will marry. Eventually she settles on the absent-minded Captain Shotover, played by junior Luke Steffen.

Dominguez said she auditioned for the play because she wanted to perform something of Shaw’s as well as work with Denny-Todd.

Senior Kati Sweigard takes on the role of Hesione Hushabye. Sweigardvdescribes her character as having an “intense personality and a ton of confidence.”

Sweigard said that Shaw intended to write the play as an examination of wartime upper-class British society.

Junior Hannah Simpson, who plays Lady Ariedne Utterwood, agreed with Sweigard. Simpson added that Shaw’s play is a critique on how self-absorbed people can be.

“Shaw wrote this play to point out the follies of mankind, particularly those of the upper-class, on the eve of WWI,” Simpson said.

“Instead of being concerned with the consequences that will inevitably rise from war, the characters in ‘Heartbreak House’ fill their minds with trivial matters,” Simpson continued. “Such as who gets the last word in an argument, or not receiving a ‘proper’ greeting when he or she has entered the house.”

‘The Vagina Monologues,’ a re-occuring movement

By Megan Dill
Transcript Reporter

Last Saturday, students of Ohio Wesleyan preformed “The Vagina Monologues” to give voice to women’s stories and struggles.

“I hope that women find a sense of empowerment and that all genders find that they were educated about sexuality and women’s experience,” said senior Claire Hackett, producer and co-director of the production.

For the third consecutive year at OWU, students gathered to perform the set of monologues based on women’s various experiences with sex, rape, orgasm, birth and more.

Before the monologues began, Pitch Black, OWU’s female a capella group, preformed renditions of Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” and  a mash-up “Tonight I’ll be Your Sweet Dream.”

Sophomore Pitch Black member, Emma Sparks, said their performance was incorporated into the show to promote female empowerment through music.

“Although women a capella groups that sing non-traditional music are increasing, they are still a newer phenomenon and are not as common as male groups,” Sparks said.

“It was another way to show that women not only have the ability, but have the passion and drive to do anything.”

After Pitch Black’s performance, the monologue performers took the stage and recited 14 short pieces.

The stories mostly focus on a realization or change in how a person feels about their vagina according to Hackett.

“In ‘The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could’ a young woman experiences a lot of trauma to her vagina, including rape when she was 10, but is changed by an enlightening sexual experience with an older woman,” Hackett said.

“But in ‘My Vagina Was My Village,’ a woman tells of how beautiful and wonderful her vagina used to be, and what is like after genital mutilation.”

For sophomore performer Elizabeth Raphael, reciting a monologue meant being able to feel comfortable with talking about vaginas and sexuality.

“I think the overall message of the show is that women from all over the world has every right to be proud of their vaginas, and any act that makes women think otherwise needs to be stopped,” Raphael said.

Yasmin Radzi, a sophomore performer, said being a part of the production helped her to gain closure from a negative sexual experience in her past.

“Being in ‘Vagina Monologues’ has really helped me grow, has helped me to find closure, and has helped me to gain strength,” she said.

‘Butterfly Confessions,’ a new tradition of diversity

By Jija Dutt
Transcript Reporter

Thirty-seven women of color, ten different monologues and a packed audience. History was made last Friday as Ohio Wesleyan became the first college to perform Yetta Young’s “Butterfly Confessions.”

“Butterfly Confessions” is “a love letter to women of color that reveals heartfelt emotions about intimacy, sexual responsibility and overcoming adversity,” according to the Facebook page for the event.

Though written for black women only, OWU’s production was modified to include a diverse group of women in order to properly represent the multinational student population on campus.

Junior Khristina Gardner was one of five directors for the play and said that it would not have been possible without the play’s producer, senior Claire Hackett.

“We are all women of color and for Claire to reach out to all of us to share the heartfelt stories within the monologues was so wonderful,” Gardner said.

“She was determined to take steps towards making a change on this campus and to bring light to various issues and she did just that.”

Gardner said she was very excited about the opportunity for the voices of black women to “finally be heard.”

Her goal for the play was to make the “women feel comfortable and form a connection with the monologues that they performed.”

Senior Madeline Miguel a part of the diverse cast said that her ethnicity is comprised of Japanese, Filipina and White.

“As someone who is of mixed ethnicity its difficult for me to feel like a fit in,” said Miguel.

“I chose to be a part of this production because I think it’s important for women of color to have a voice and a presence on our campus.”

Miguel said her only challenge was that she “felt a little strange and a bit left out” because the monologues were all written for black women.

“I couldn’t relate to black women, but I could relate to struggles of being a minority woman,” Miguel said.

“The directors were excellent at encouraging us that all of us were an important part of this production.”

Miguel added that she was particularly interested in the combination of light hearted, funny monologues and the more serious hard-hitting topics of HIV/AIDS and child abuse.

“It showed the audience a part of a culture with which we coexist, but rarely recognize or notice. It was amusing, sad and all too real,”  said freshman Jessica Sanford of the performance.

From scheduling conflicts to the nervousness of being a first time director, Gardner said she was glad with the way the show turned out.

“I want to see ‘Butterfly Confessions’ grow,” she added. “I want to see the women who chose to be involved with ‘Butterfly Confessions’ grow. I want to see the Ohio Wesleyan community as a whole grow from this production as well.”

The first collegiate performance of ‘Confessions’ concluded with a standing ovation from the audience of Grey Chapel.

“Down-to-earth” has become one of the more contrived terms to describe celebrities, but still one that seems to perfectly encompass Ohio Wesleyan’s evening with actor, writer, director and advocate for kindness, Josh Radnor.

Best know for his role as Ted Mosby on Fox’s sitcom, “How I Met Your Mother,” Radnor’s appearance drew a large crowd in Chappelear Drama Center last Wednesday.

Audience members weren’t quite sure what to expect from Radnor, and as it turned out, Radnor didn’t quite know what to expect from himself. According to Radnor, in the past he had given a speech at a university and realized that the part he enjoyed the most was administering a question and answer session with the students.

Because his favorite portion of the evening is talking to students, Radnor explained that, “that is what these talks have evolved into, basically this is me saying that I don’t have anything planned, I don’t know what we’re going to talk about…something generally comes up.”

Freshman Caroline Paul said she didn’t come to the show with many expectations, and was told to attend by an avid How I Met Your Mother fan.

“I’m just excited to see what he has to say,” Paul said.

Another audience member, freshman Kristen Canda said, “My brother watched the show a ton so I’m kind of here to just say that I saw Radnor, I’m going to send him pictures to make him jealous.”

Canda also pointed out the lack information about the lecture’s subject matter.

“I have no idea what he is going to talk about, I mean I assume its going to be like his life story type of thing, like a biography, but I really don’t know what to expect at all,” she said.

Before delving into his discussion of transitioning from a small Ohio town to becoming an actor with seemingly endless opportunities, Radnor provided the audience with snacks that he had been given but evidently didn’t want.

“Are there any potassium-deficient people in the audience?” Radnor asked jokingly while handing a bunch of bananas to a student in the front row.

Radnor may not have intended it, but his talk eventually digressed into a sort of life advice session. The latter half of his two-hour discussion was solely dedicated to responding to questions from audience members, which largely comprised of inquires related to succeeding in the world of acting.

It was easy to see from the manner in which Radnor addressed student’s questions that he genuinely wanted to help students. His solutions came by providing students with anecdotes from his own life and career.

In response to a question of what has helped him most throughout his career, Radnor said, “My dad said something to me that I always thought was the best bit of advice that I’ve gotten; he said character doesn’t count in the short term, it counts in the long term.”

He advised the audience that the best way to “make it” is to be kind.

“It is a personality business, don’t give up your character for a short term gain, because you’re not going to get it back,” he said.

He also pointed to specific parts of his life that have helped him in the long term such as growing up in a small mid-west town that taught him to have a humble attitude, and attending a liberal arts school, Kenyon College, that forced him to explore various fields of study that a specialized acting institution would not have provided.

Sophomore Nicole Nitty, one of the CPB presidents, said there were extra available tickets to sell at the door, and some people who had bought tickets ahead of time did not end up attending the talk.

“I think (the event) went well, I’ll wait to see what people say around campus about it,” Nitty said. “I think people involved with the theatre definitely got a lot out of it.”

Radnor’s attitude and manner of hosting the event made it seem more like the audience was chatting with him over a cup of coffee at a small café, rather than sitting with 300 other people and watching him on stage.

“I’m just someone who loved the theatre and banged on the door until they let me in,” Radnor said.

Music from Ohio Wesleyan student band Wahoo Sam Crawford flared through Endangered Species as a supplement to Delaware’s First Friday of March festivities.

The downtown Delaware record store, owned by Patrick Bailey, has hosted performances in its locale for the past 33 years.

University students and other Delaware residents drifted in and out of the store listening to the band and browsing Bailey’s record selection last Friday, March 7.

Music Community

“Bridging the gap between school and town since we first stumbled into Pat’s musical wonderland, Wahoo Sam Crawford is finally going to be performing at Pat’s,” Wahoo Sam Crawford wrote on their Facebook event page.

Three OWU seniors, Erika Nininger, Michael Cormier and Sam Sonnega, and junior Connor Stout comprise Wahoo Sam Crawford.  All members contribute to the band’s vocals, while Nininger plays the keyboard, Cormier on drums, Sonnega plays both guitar and keyboard and Stout tackles the bass.

“Mike (Michael), Sam and Erika are a year older than me, so they played together during their freshman year,” Stout said.

“I first started to play with them after Thanksgiving break of my freshman year, so over two years ago.”

Stout describes their music style as “indie/folk rock with a definite jam edge.”

The band began their set around 6:45 p.m. and played until about 9 p.m. with a small intermission in between. They mixed traditional songs with newer and instrumental pieces.

Local Opinion

The audience formed a semicircle around the back of the store where the band was set up to play, and diligently listened. Fans, families and friends of the band even requested songs throughout the show.

Delaware resident Sarah Accountius has seen Wahoo perform multiple times and said, “They are usually pretty funky.”

Bailey said that he has a good relationship with the band and they also bring business into his store.

“They’re the four out of 2,000 students that shop here,” Bailey said.

Throughout the performance members of the audience strolled through the aisles of records, while listening to the band.

“I thought it was a nice show, it’s great whenever anyone comes to see our music,” Stout said.

“Even if it was just one person, as long as we could make them smile at some point.”